Rising stars in the local startup community BarkBox, HackNY, and Gotham Greens will be on hand at Xconomy Forum: New York’s Venture Emergence event on Feb. 1. They will enlighten the crowd with “burst” presentations, during which they’ll describe their companies and their growth plans. It’s all part of an exciting half-day event that will also feature speakers such as Fred Wilson, managing partner of Union Square Ventures, and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, founder of fashion e-commerce website Gilt Groupe.
Here’s our lineup of up-and-coming companies:
BarkBox: Since its launch last November, BarkBox has been shipping boxes of hand-picked dog treats and toys to pet owners. Carly Strife, Matt Meeker, and Henrik Werdlin co-founded the company, which sends each subscriber four to five items per month based on the size of their dogs. Strife was New York operations manager for Uber, a San Francisco-based startup that created an app to connect passengers with on-demand car services. Meeker is a co-founder of Meetup.com, and Werdlin is managing partner of product incubator Prehype and previously entrepreneur in residence at Index Ventures.
HackNY: This program was co-founded by Evan Korth, faculty liaison for technology entrepreneurship at NYU, and Chris Wiggins, associate professor in the department of applied physics and applied mathematics at Columbia University. HackNY invites college students from across the country to work with New York startups. The program’s objective is to nurture a network of young innovators with its epicenter in New York. HackNY also hosts weekend hackathons to encourage the creation of new technology.
Gotham Greens: This startup brings a touch of cleantech to the New York landscape. Gotham Greens, co-founded by Viraj Puri and Eric Haley, established its first rooftop greenhouse in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn as part of a plan to grow fresh produce for retailers and restaurants in the city. Jennifer Nelkin heads up greenhouse operations. Gotham Greens operates year round, growing its crops through the winter, as well. The first harvest began last June, with basil and lettuce the main crops.
The New York Venture Emergence forum starts at 2 p.m. and runs through 6:30 p.m. on February 1 at the Apella Event Space at Alexandria Center for Life Science. A networking reception will follow. Registration and other details can be found here. And if you’re a startup currently in one of New York’s many incubators, check with your program’s manager to find out if you can get a free ticket. There are 50 free slots up for grabs courtesy of the New York Angels.
